Recycling, capitalist style

Well, the haul for Day 1 of the Woods Family Garage Sale was somewhat less than I'd hoped for, but it proved interesting, and we managed to off-load at least some of our unwanted material. Business was much better early in the day, so my advice to others is to open early -- an hour in the a.m. is worth two in the p.m.

It's always amazing to see what sells and what doesn't. We still have a huge but cheap desk which would be great for a college student who needed a computer-holder, and we couldn't unload the big ol' TV despite several people who expressed interest. We've got a pretty nice set of dishes, and the missing pieces just make it the perfect size for a single 20-something. No takers on that. I don't think we sold any of our ourdoor furniture. It's mostly crap, but it's all priced to move.

On the other hand, an ancient blue pinstriped Lay-Z-Boy chair --which my mother thoroughly loathed and had pronounced unsaleable -- was the first item to be snatched up this morning. I priced it at $12 but really wanted $10, and that's what I got. The fact that the base and the back came apart for easy transport proved to be the feature which sealed the deal. The new owner seemed thoroughly pleased, and didn't even seem to mind the six-inch burn mark on the left armrest (long story there, right Steve?). I have vowed to remind mom about this event for decades. We also sold quite a few bags of marbles -- you know, the kind people of a certain age played with at recess as grade-schoolers.

Garage sales provide a sort of street entertainment in the form of characters who stop by. Lots of retired white women patrol garage sales, but you also get a smattering of young couples. We had a 14-year-old boy (described to me as "adorable"), who stopped in with his grandparents and snatched up everything available with a University of Michigan logo on it. At each item, he'd ask if he could have it, and Grandpa would shake his head no. Then, like a catcher appealing to the first-base ump for a more favorable call, the kid would plead with Grandma, who couldn't deny her precious grandson. The kid got all sorts of cool UofM swag for pennies on the dollar.

You have your serious shoppers and your hagglers. Serious shoppers grab half a dozen items and pay full price, no questions asked. Hagglers want to know if they can get two glasses for a quarter, instead of paying a quarter each. You end up saying no on principle, because while it's true that you don't care about a damned quarter, you know they don't either, and you can't abide such cheapness. We had an almost-new set of scrubs ($35 retail) priced for $3, and one woman wanted to pay $2. We lowered a bunch of prices today, but not that one.

At the end of the day I made an off-hand comment to my family about the thrift of some buyers, and wondered aloud who the biggest haggler was. In an instant, Old Chip quipped that it was probably Marvin. (Think about it a second -- you'll get it)

We also still have a huge number of coffee mugs. I think we sold one with a snowman on it. So probably the lesson here is that everyone else has all the same unwanted crap you do. I doubt anyone has a shortage of coffee mugs, so don't bother giving them as gifts anymore, OK?

We'll open a little earlier tomorrow and hope for brisk business. I think the serious shoppers come out early.